Cleveland agrees to pay $1.3 million to two men wrongfully convicted of murder

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The city has agreed to pay $1.3 million to two men who were wrongfully convicted of killing a Slavic Village woman in 1997, for which they spent 13 years in prison.

Thomas Siller and Walter Zimmer filed a federal lawsuit last year against a disgraced crime laboratory worker with the Cleveland Police Department. The men accused forensic serologist Joseph Serowik of fabricating evidence that resulted in their convictions.

The lawsuit contended the city failed to properly train and supervise Serowik, and it accused the lab worker of violating the men’s due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Serowik was fired in 2004. Siller, now 58, and Zimmer, now 57, were released from prison in 2011.

The opposing sides agreed to settle the case out of court, said attorney Terry Gilbert, who was assisted on the case by attorney David Mills. Siller and Zimmer will split the money. Gilbert declined to divulge his fees.

“It’s not going to make them rich, but at least it will give them financial security,” Gilbert said.

Walter Zimmer

Although grateful for the money, Siller had a different perspective on the settlement.

“It helps, but there’s no amount of money that can compensate a person for the loss of 13 years of his life,” Siller said.

City spokeswoman Maureen Harper acknowledged the settlement and the agreement to pay each plaintiff $650,000. "However, this settlement is not an admission of liability by the City or Mr. Serowik," Harper said.

A Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court jury convicted Siller and Zimmer in the beating death of Lucy Zolkowski, 74. She remained in a coma for two years before dying in 1999. Both men said they were friends with the victim and did work for her around the house, but denied any involvement in the attack.

A third co-defendant, Jason Smith, didn’t know the victim. He admitted being inside the house but denied participating in the attack. He was charged with attempted murder, but granted immunity in exchange for testifying against his two co-defendants. He was sentenced to three years in prison for aggravated burglary.

Serowik also was immune from criminal prosecution. He testified that he had tested dark splatters found on Smith’s pants, but insisted they were not blood.

Jason Smith

Subsequent DNA tests found 20 spots of blood on the pants -- nine of which could be traced to the victim and Smith. None of the blood spots could be traced to Siller or Zimmer.

Several experts who studied Serowik’s lab work in the case found a “systematic pattern” of professional misconduct that rose to the level of “scientific fraud.”

“Serowik really misled the prosecutors and the jury,” Gilbert said. “Otherwise, Tom and Wally never would have gone to prison.”

Siller cannot forgive Serowik for his shoddy lab work and faulty testimony.

Joseph Serowik

“How come he can’t be punished?” Siller said. “It doesn’t make sense. He robbed me of 13 years with an out-and-out lie. This is a bad system that allows him to get away with it.”

Serowik now teaches science at a secondary school in Richmond Heights.

Smith subsequently confessed to charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with his trial testimony. He is serving a five-year prison sentence.

In addition to Siller and Zimmer, Gilbert accused Serowik of sending other innocent people to prison, notably Michael Green, who served 13 years for a rape he didn’t commit prior to his release from prison in 2001.

A DNA test debunked Serowik’s flawed tests and cleared Green of the crime. The actual rapist came forward and pleaded guilty. The city paid Green and his attorneys $1.6 million to settle a lawsuit in the case.

Siller and Zimmer also have sued the state in Common Pleas Court, and are awaiting a ruling on whether the two were wrongfully imprisoned, Gilbert said.

After his release, Siller worked as a bricklayer before injuring his back. Zimmer drives a truck.